The Monarch's Ascension
by Piodasses
Summary: The Monarch has ascended and his knights rule the land. A young warrior from the rebel Phoenix Army and his fair maiden have been captured as prisoners. The drama unfolds. Oneshot for now .


**The Monarch's Ascension**

I rise from my throne. The entire court rises almost instantly. They know better than to show me disrespect. I raise my hand and make a motion, and they all sit down. The prisoner stares at me defiantly. I like seeing fire in the eyes of my enemies. But lately, few are able to withstand my cool detached gaze with as much vigour as this young man. I scoff at my own thoughts. He is far too young to be called a man… and yet, he stands braver than any other in recent memory.

My name is Harry James Potter. I am the Monarch of Britain, soon to be conqueror of all Europe. Perhaps, my ambition will stop there. I think it would have. But this new move by my enemies has roused me like an erupting volcano. They have condemned themselves.

I face the lad. "The choice is yours, my fearless foe. End this defiance and take a vow of unfettering loyalty, and I will let you live."

"I will die before submitting to a tyrant!"

Ah, the fire. It is so pleasant to see. It almost reminds me of who I once was. And I know how to crush his spirit; because, I know what would have once crushed mine.

I raise my hand and a girl comes flying towards us. The summoning charm. I have so many pleasant memories revolving around it.

"Victoire!" the lad cries out in disbelief. "You're alive! How? Have they hurt you? I'll kill anyone who's so much as looked at you wrong!"

Poor Teddy. I feel for his pain when he will realise what has happened to Victoire. It wasn't my doing, though, and if she had been caught by my men, I would have spared her. I would have spared her and treated her like a princess, surrounded her with everything she desired. I would love her with every fibre of my being and treat her right. Like a doting uncle to a beloved niece.

"Sir Dennis," I call out.

One of my faithful knights instantly comes forward, dressed immaculately, a paragon of courage and valour. He bows before me.

"Tell our young prisoner of the fate that befell this young maiden," I say. I tilt my hand slightly and Victoire comes flying towards me, and falls at my feet. I raise her gently.

"Don't you dare touch her, you fiend!"

"Silence," Sir Dennis backhands the prisoner. "The maiden before you was rescued from a werewolf camp in France," he spat. "Your allies. She was infected for the sole purpose of giving the werewolves another female to mate with during the full moons. As a wolf."

Teddy blanches and struggles against his ropes.

I look tenderly at Victoire. They call me a monster. But I wouldn't have done anything of that sort to this sweet little child. I move my hand over her face, the wounds heal as best as they can. I run my hand over her body, doing as much as I could. Her pain distresses me. Her fear hurts me.

"You have nothing to fear from me, child," I tell her softly. "I am not the monster you have been led to believe I am."

She doesn't believe me. None of them do. Not to begin with. But they change.

"This is your final chance, Teddy," I tell him quietly. "Join me and live with the maiden you love, at my side."

Teddy scoffs at my offer. "Otherwise what? You'll kill her? Perhaps, she's better off dead. Perhaps, we both are."

I move my hand sharply, hitting the air in front of me. But Teddy's face moves back like I slapped him. Victoire struggles at my side. I turn to her again. So tender. So young. But where is the fire which I so longed to see in her face? The vigour in those pale hazel eyes? Did those mongrels destroy it completely?

I grab her arm and raise her to face me. "You are my niece," I tell her sharply. "Act like the princess you are. Stand up straight and look at me in the eye. Show me their faces."

She is shocked at my words. She raises her head, sending me images of those that haunt her waking and sleeping thoughts. I memorise each and every one of them.

I pat the torn ends of her garment, changing them. Not into the regal clothes she'll soon be wearing, but into something that would remove the hideous rags she was wearing. She shakes from my perusal of her memories.

"I will hunt them," I give her my word. "I will hunt them like the filthy mongrels they are and roast every single one of them into the night as an offering to soothe your mother's spirit."

She gasps out and steadies herself slowly, looking at me in a new light.

"Your precious Phoenix Resistance will not bother about you," I shatter her quietly. "They will appease the werewolves and continue fighting side-by-side against my brave knights. But not me." I tell her with emotion. "I will avenge you." I turn to my knights. They are faithful to me. "Knights," I call out loudly.

They all stand up and stamp one foot down at once, making a loud ring of confident assent.

"_Princess_ Victoire has been assaulted and raped by werewolf scum," I state every word clearly. They all know it. They know what fate fell on her. But the title I give her is enough. She has been claimed as part of the royal family. My voice makes their hearts rage with fire. "Prepare your steeds. Tonight, we fight."

Once again, a single sound of their right foot stomping the ground. That's it. Nothing more. And then the knights filter out with perfect discipline, leaving behind my inner circle of command.

"U-Uncle," she tries it out.

I turn to Victoire and soften my gaze. My eyes linger on her. There are some scars no healing would remove, and many of them are not even visible to the naked eye. But her beauty is not marred, this sweet child. "Do not fear me," I tell her again.

"Let Teddy go," she begs. "I do not care for my own life… let Teddy go."

"Victoire, no!" Teddy cries out.

Young love. Her request nearly brings a tear to my eye. "Child," I begin softly. "Just as I must fight tonight for your sake, I must punish Teddy for the sake of those young children in my realm he and his friends have orphaned. Dozens of women have been widowed by young Teddy. Many a parent will bury his child. I cannot simply let him go back so he may continue doing this."

I see it in her eyes, the shame and understanding. There is no light, no dark, only magic, blood and tears. All sides have ample of those.

"I will do anything you want," Victoire continues. "Please, let Teddy live."

I consider her words. I gave Teddy his choice and he refused me. I will see him crumble into despair as Victoire becomes one of mine. Heart and soul. But appearing magnanimous before my niece is important until she truly accepts me.

"My Lord Longbottom," I call out. Neville sits by my side, as does Draco. The most faithful amongst the faithful. "Princess Victoire begs for the prisoner's life. You are my Minister of Justice, and you know the charges against the prisoner. What is your ruling?"

Neville considers for a moment.

I know him well. He wants to save the brave young lad, with the same hopes as I, that perhaps one day he will see his folly and join us. But the blood he has spilled and the tears he has shed must be accounted for.

"A sentence of servitude," Neville says, and I nod in agreement. "He will be bound to the family he has wronged the most by his actions from last night."

Not unlike a house-elf in the past. But now the little imps run free in my realm, and only offenders who would have died but have some utility left in them are placed under this unbreakable bond.

"Very well," I agree. "My queen and I have that unfortunate claim, I believe."

Luna walks out of the shadows and stares with vacant eyes at the young prisoner. Teddy falters, he moves back in shock and distress.

"No!" he cries out. "Not you… please, not you…"

And from his expression and voice I know he will have nightmares of my dearest Luna's face for years to come. Of her tears and her pain. They will haunt him.

"Why not?" Luna asks in a sing-song voice. "You murdered my six year old son, now replace him."

Victoire gasps next to me, turning from Luna to Teddy in disbelief. Teddy refuses to meet her gaze. He's broken in spirit.

"No…" Victoire doesn't want to believe it of the man she loves. "You didn't…"

I gently rest my hand on my niece's shoulder. "He was doing it for you, child. He was led to believe that we held you prisoner. He stormed into my palace to take prisoner those I love as much as he loves you. But he led an army that slaughtered my household, and he joined them in the bloodlust of battle."

Victoire turns to me with an unreadable expression. "Your son…"

I keep back the tears and it isn't very hard, surprisingly. So many loved ones have I lost that another should hardly make a difference. Sometimes, I wonder if I lost my last tears when I carried my sweet Ginny's body back.

"My sons," I correct her. "Including a blood cousin of yours. Prince James the Courageous. Teddy and his friends came like assassins in the night, while others of the Phoenix Army met us in open battle in the fields of Italy. They slit the throats of the young and the old, the men and the women. Prince James held them off to allow many to escape and call for help, but he was just one young boy of twelve against many older warriors." I turn to Teddy. His defiance is gone. To see the maiden he loves look at him with the same expression that she uses for her own tormentors…

Alas, that too is a feeling I know so well. We're not much different. Teddy and I. Part of me would have the earth open up at his feet and swallow him alive and slowly starve him to death deep under the ground. But another part of me sees past the brainwashed drone of the Phoenix Army and sees a young lad with potential.

"Lady Astoria," I call Draco's wife. She is the best person for this kind of work, and I know today's proceedings have already sickened her enough.

She comes before me.

"I entrust my niece to your care," I say. "Will you look after her and help her overcome her ordeals?"

"Yes, my liege," she curtsies. She walks towards me unhesitatingly, knowing she has nothing to fear me while she means me no harm, and took Victoire in her arms. "Come with me, my dear."

I return to my throne. With my knights gone, the courtroom is bare. Less than a handful remain.

Draco clears his throat and I turn to him. "Will you be leading tonight's fight, my liege?"

I nod. "The mongrels have awakened a fire inside me that was threatening to falter."

"This could be a trap," Draco continued. "A carefully laid out trap, not by the filthy halfbreeds but by the Phoenix Army. They have some clever schemers in their ranks."

I turn to him with surprise. "You shock me, my Lord Malfoy. This most definitely _is_ a trap laid by an old friend ours. Throwing Victoire and Teddy in front of me like pieces of meat… Can't you see who's hand is behind this scheme? Anyone?"

Neville understands. "Hermione," he snarls.

I nod. "Few know me like her. Victoire… she looks so much like Ginny, can't you see that?" I laugh madly. "Seeing what Victoire went through…" I took a deep breath, my eyes dampen. "And Teddy… why, he's me." I laugh again but this time a tear falls from my eyes.

Nobody speaks.

I let my tears fall unabashedly for a few moments. Nobody takes it as a sign of weakness. They know better.

"Lord Filius," I call my oldest advisor. "What do you propose?"

"The Ter Orbis," says Filius. "Three layers of offence. The first strikes hard against the wolves. Their ambush falls upon us. The second layer strikes against the ambush. And the third waits in standby to see what happens and react accordingly."

His suggestion makes sense. But it is predictable. It most likely is what they'll be preparing for as well.

"You disagree, my liege?" asks Filius.

"Leave the mongrels. Lord Malfoy will lead an attack on the Phoenix stronghold," I say quietly. "I will have my knights avenge their princes by slaying every warrior they come across and bring prisoner of all others. The Phoenix will be crushed mercilessly."

They all stare at me in shock. I have delayed this final encounter for so long, they believed I had no desire to end this conflict. They were wrong. It was a tactful move.

"Ah."

I turn to Filius, who nods in approval.

"You believe all traitors have been drawn to the Phoenix stronghold by now?" he asks.

"Not all," I shrug. "But most. I will send word to our allies in Asia to hit them from the east. My lords, we will end this once and for all."

"What about you, my liege? Will you not join us?"

I turn to Neville. He still worries about me, carrying the solemn charge placed on him by Ginny with utmost seriousness.

"I gave my word to Victoire," I tell him. "Somebody has to take care of the mongrels."

Draco draws a deep breath. He looks unhappy with that. But he knows better than to voice any doubts about my capability.

"Are you in such a hurry to leave me and join your sons?" Luna has no such qualms. Fear breaks through her mask of detachment and I do not turn to face her.

"I will be back before midnight, my queen," I waive her concerns aside.

"Take me with you."

I turn to Luna with annoyance. For a moment I feel like snapping at her to stop trying to act like my sweet Ginny… this was such a Ginny-thing to say. But then I see the reason behind her request.

To those who still cared about sentimental gestures, it would bring a lot of meaning. It wasn't a Monarch or a tyrant who was going to fight tonight, but grieving parents whose sons were murdered by the schemes of those who called themselves protectors of the light.

I nod simply.

I am surprised to see Teddy is still there. He still hasn't recovered from his breakdown. I scoff at myself. He never will recover from it. I had executed it skilfully. That's what Hermione didn't account for when she pushed these two in front of me, that I would have learnt from others' mistakes.

Righteousness. Self-belief. Belief in another's love. Belief in one's own innocence. These can save one from the harshest of tortures. I stripped each of these away from Teddy mercilessly. The poor lad. I believe we could have been friends, had things been a lot different than they were. After all, wasn't he my godson?

"But first," I say quietly to my inner circle, "we drink wine. After all, my little Teddy has come back to his godfather's family. It's a shame James and Lune cannot join us in this reunion." I raise a goblet of wine. The others join me. "To Prince James the Courageous and Prince Lune the Innocent."

That is the final blow. Teddy collapses and curls into a ball, crying pitifully. It's done. He will never recover to become the man he could have been. He may become someone more terrible or much better, but he will never become a noble warrior of the light, staring unflinchingly at his enemies assured that he stands in the correct side in the fight between good and evil. And all that jazz.

I stand up. The others follow suit. "Lord Longbottom, secure the home guard. Do not let the defences fall should the Phoenix Army launch an offensive here. Lord Flitwick, go to our allies in Asia and bid them to come to our aid. Invoke the death of my sons if you must. Tell them the Phoenix dies tonight. Lord Malfoy, my knights await your arrival."

They depart.

I turn to Teddy. "Luna, tell him to stand up."

"Stand," Luna echoes, and the lad has no choice but to obey. "Wipe your tears and stop crying."

He does that. "Let me help," Teddy begs. "I want to fight those who hurt Victoire."

Doesn't everyone want to protect those they love and take vengeance, if they fail? But Teddy will soon learn that not everybody deserves to do so.

I look at Luna. "I want him occupied until we return. What do you suggest?" There is nothing I can think of that will surpass the punishment Luna will have in store for the killer of our child.

"Our palace is full of things belonging to the princes," said Luna softly. "I want you to move them to Lady Astoria's safekeeping." Meaning, try to explain your actions to Victoire. "But first, trim the grass around their graves." Meaning, reflect on your murders before you do that. "Also, Princess Victoire will require Wolfsbane every month, so go to the royal potions master and stay with him while he brews it." Meaning, think of what your side subjected the girl you love to. "You are not allowed to use magic or use force against any other person, unless in the defence of any loyal citizen of this realm." Meaning, we don't trust you.

And in all, while the war is being decided, stay away from the fighting.

I take her hand in mine. We walk to the terrace courtyard. I see my knights in their thestrals and hippogriffs, flying in disciplined formation. They could have left by now but Draco has kept them waiting. They need to know their liege is not hiding behind his warded castles. They need to see the ascent of the Monarch.

I close my eyes, feeling for the link. Those strong in magic usually have a familiar. Most never find them. Other believe they have found theirs but all they have is a very intelligent pet. An owl cannot be a familiar, a kneazle cannot be a familiar, nor can a rat or a toad.

Albus Dumbledore had a phoenix. Salazar Slytherin had a basilisk. Godric Gryffindor had a griffin. I had found mine when I was very young. I just didn't realise it for a long time.

I summoned my familiar.

A Hungarian Horntail roared and the night flared in golden flames. I reach to her with my mind and Hera responses. Half a dozen of her babies, now fully grown dragons themselves, follow after her. Hera lands on the courtyard in front of me and lowers her head.

Usually, she isn't so docile, struggling against our bond as hard as I would struggle, say, if I were bound to a little gazelle against my wishes. But she understands me now. The loss of a child is a pain that permeates through species with an equal fervour.

"My wife wants to come," I tell Hera, but there is no response. The lack of her trying to maul either of us, however, is reassuring, and I help Luna climb her back. Then I sit behind her, one hand grabbing one of the thorns jutting from her upper neck, and securing Luna with my other arm.

"We rule the night. Let's go."


End file.
